pinned it. did it. {with meg}

Today, I'm delighted to introduce a new blog feature with my friend Meg Brothers: Pinned it. Did it. 

Meg and I are kind of like Pinterest penpals. We have similar taste in things (from DIY ideas to quilts we want to make to tattoos to quotes) and realized we were often repinning almost everything the other person pinned. As I continue to integrate how I use Pinterest and share more here, I asked Meg if she wanted to share a few of her Pinterest escapades with us. Lucky for us, she said yes! Every other week, she'll be posting about the ways she uses Pinterest, DIY ideas she's tackled from Pinterest, how it's changing how she cooks, and other good things.

Read on for Meg's first column.

***

Pinterest has been game changer for me. When I first heard about Pinterest, I decided I was not interested in joining because I felt like I spent enough time on other various forms of social media and didn’t want to get “sucked in” as some had warned against. But, curiosity got to me, and I signed up for an invitation and waited to join just to see if I’d like it. I started out slowly by pinning clothes I liked and decadent food items I dreamed of making. But as time went by, I realized that Pinterest was a platform to help organize, enhance, and improve the life I was already living. A game changer indeed. 

One organizational way that I use Pinterest weekly for is meal planning. If meal planning were an Olympic sport, I think I could medal in it. I have it down to a science in my home. I grocery shop on Sunday mornings. It’s my favorite time to shop because the stores are quiet and I like to get a fridge full of food ready for the week ahead. So on Saturdays I sit down and browse my Pinterest boards for meal ideas. I have gorgeous boards organized by meals, health content, even dietary needs. And I sit down and meal plan from beautiful pictures and map out the week ahead.

When I find a meal that I want to make, I go straight to the recipe. I open an app on my phone that holds my grocery list, and I start adding ingredients that I will need for that meal to the list. I repeat the process and choose a week’s worth of meals - each time being careful to open the recipe, add the ingredients that I don’t already have on hand to the list, and create my grocery list straight from the meals I have chosen cook for the week. 

This Week’s Sample Menu

Monday: Greek Chicken Hash
Tuesday: Holy Yum Chicken
Wednesday: Lettuce Wraps
Thursday: Pasta with Fresh Tomato Sauce
Friday: Cilantro Chili Chicken Skewers
Saturday: Cannellini Bean Meatballs with Tomato Sauce 
Sunday: Sausage Stuffed Zucchini Boats

I love to try things I find on Pinterest and I like to share my experiences with other people. I created a board called “I Pinned It and Then I Did It” where I can re-pin items after I try them and can include a little information about how it went. That way in the future I can go straight to it and read my quick notes on how it turned out or how I’d change it the next time around. 

This whole system allows me to stick to a tight food budget and only grocery shop once a week. I know I have all the items I need for a whole week’s worth of food and I never have to search the cupboards for something to whip up. 

Meal and grocery planning is one simple way Pinterest has made my life easier. Is there a way you use Pinterest when it comes to meal planning or grocery planning? I’d love to hear about it. (Leave a comment and let us know!)

Meg Brothers is an artist, photographer, mama, and dreamer. She loves cooking, tattoos, and sporadic dance parties in the kitchen. She prefers dark chocolate, black coffee, and flip flops when weather permits. She is a lover of Pinterest and truly believes in integrating ideas and inspiration - big or small - into normal life. Meg lives in Denver, Colorado with her husband, Dustin and son, Julian. Meg writes about photography, family, and creative inspiration at megbrothers.com. Find her on Pinterest here and on Twitter here. 

***

Note from Liz: Over here in my corner, I'm trying to "use Pinterest for good." I really see it as a community of people trying to see the beauty and possibility in their lives. I'm adding a few new features here on my blog inspired by or directly about Pinterest as a way to invite others to look for this beauty within a social media community. I look forward to seeing how it all unfolds. Connect with me on Pinterest here.

the stories waiting inside

Tell Your Story tattoos (and happy bracelets) are in the shop

There are a few stories currently on a list in my head that are insisting on becoming words on the page. When this happens, I open up my favorite green Smash journal and add them to the "stories I want to tell" list.

Adding bits and pieces to this list feels really important; otherwise, the stories seem to fly through me. From the words Ellie Jane says to the bits of memories from long ago that will arrive unannounced, I keep adding snippets of stories to the list. 

Tonight, somewhere in the softness I'm trying to find these days and the quiet that arrives after she goes to bed, all I can think about is writing the story of what it really means to have someone catch you.

An invitation: If you don't already, begin to make a list of the stories waiting inside you. Stories from today, last week, and even 30 years ago. It is time...

thank you (yes you)

water your (toddler mama) soul

Here,
a pause before the day begins.
Here,
birds insisting this day is still full of beauty.
Here,
fog and rhododendrons and so many shades of green.
Here,
tired but determined eyes.
Here,
a necklace made by little hands.
Here,
a heart holding so much.
Here,
a backyard full of blooming weeds.
Here,
a trust that this is exactly where I’m supposed to be.

The belief that practicing self-care in small bits of time saves me each day is why I take these photos and pair them with a few words. Sometimes the prompt is “here;” other times I’m just trying to capture the realness, the beauty in the midst of the “to-do list” and the pauses as I move between roles in my life. 

And I love thinking about the me 10 years from now (or even 10 weeks from now) looking back on these visual and written snapshots and remembering that I really was finding my way.

an invitation

Get out a piece of paper and write your own "list of here." You might repeat the word "here" like I've done, letting it begin every sentence or new thought. You might write a paragraph or a list of bullet points. You also might want to take a photo to capture this moment and pair it with your words. This practice can become a beautiful one to turn to when you need some creative self-care.

If you want to share your words, please send them my way. I would love to read them.

***

A little over a year ago, I started writing down the practices, like the "here" practice above, that I use each day to stay grounded in the midst of all the beautiful intensity that is life with a toddler. I knew I wanted to share these practices and my stories of living in the toddler mama trenches in an ecourse of some sort, but I needed to live it for another year before I found the right container.

Water Your Mama Soul is a 10 day course where you explore ways to be right here in this moment and find the space to choose love...for yourself...for those around you...for this life you're choosing to live each day. You'll take photos and journal a bit and notice what you need each day. You'll reconnect with yourself. You'll give yourself the gift of remembering you.

Yes. Yes. Yes.

Register right here.

Thank you for catching my stories and showing up here to share your own.

Blessings,

Liz 

why i *still* watch grey's anatomy (because this is self-care)

 

versions of this list have been rolling around my brain for weeks now, so i thought i would just get it down...because sometimes (not all the time but sometimes) self-care can be in the form of a date in front of the television and i'm not afraid to say it.

why i watch "grey's anatomy"

because it helps me grieve some of the stuck stuff

because i remember walking through hospital corridors and imagining a force field of love around us

because a four-month-old heart really is that small

because talking about death is okay

because i am so thankful our teaching hospital experience didn't involve drama quite like that

because my baby lived (and yours didn't and i think about that too. often.) 

because life and death really are part of our everyday (even though that scares us)

because Patrick Dempsey is even better looking than when the series began

because I love the music

because the voice over at the beginning and end gets me every single time

because my birth experience was more traumatic than some of the storylines and it helps me to know I'm not crazy to be feeling all that I feel

because it really is okay to grieve the parts when things weren't okay even if they are mostly okay now

because sometimes fiction gives our brain and heart just the space they need to be still enough to notice the feelings underneath 

may collection {now in the shop}

My new Soul Mantra May Collection is now in the shop!

During the past few weeks, I've been really inspired by the incredibly gorgeous spring we've been having. The joy is pretty contagious, especially when everywhere you turn, from corners of our backyard and neighborhood to gorgeous Pt. Defiance Park, there are happy blooms in all shades and sizes leaning toward the blue sky smiling down on us.

Seriously. Spring has been ridiculous this year. 

When my mom was visiting, she, Ellie, and I went on a walk in a nearby park. When we got home, I went into my studio and gathered beads in all the colors we'd seen. From the pale blue of the sky that day (shown in the kyanite in this bracelet) to the vivid tulips (shown in these moonglow necklaces and bracelets).

your heart knows the way (available here)

When I was hammering the phrases in the lockets I've paired with some of the necklaces, the phrase, "your heart knows the way" came whispering to me followed by the word "trust." I've paired the two together with these happy beads as a gentle reminder to listen to what you know. This is my favorite necklace in the collection (and you can customize the word on the heart in case you need it to say something like "brave" or "open" or "love").

Being open to the inspiration around me has really changed the way I'm approaching my jewelry collections, and I think the results are simply more representative of me and what I believe. Always a good thing. I'm so grateful that I live in this corner of the world.

See all of the collection here.

this is...

This is not a post about how I haven't been to Paris yet.

This is not a post about how sad I am that I didn't have professional photos taken while I was pregnant or right after Ellie was born.

This is not a post about how I'm still thinking about the food Persephone made at the Feast Retreat (and how I need to make some in my kitchen).

This is not a post about why I (still) watch Grey's Anatomy.

This is not a post about Millie's chronic ear infection and how she's moved on to the needing to see a specialist phase and how intense, sad, and expensive it is.

This is not a post about how I want to teach more workshops around the country and how I'm wondering how to make that happen.

This is not a post about how much I really want to start an art journal practice.

This is not a post about me sharing how I really feel when someone says, "Soak up every minute. They just grow up so fast. You will miss this."

This is not a post about the incredible number of words Ellie says in a day or an hour and how much that sound delights every corner of my being.

This is not a post about how much I really want to be invited to a party where I can wear my never-been-worn favorite party dress.

This is not a post about how much I still love my hair cut.

This is not a post about how much I miss you.

This is not a post about the quiet moments when doubt sneaks in.

This is not a post about the exquisite taste of fig jam + goat cheese + prosciutto.

No.

This is a post about one family taking a walk in their neighborhood on a Sunday evening and finding the most incredible evidence of a Pacific Northwest Spring along the edges of the sidewalk. Walking, running, naming every color and every shade of every color, telling me which flowers to photograph, and chatting the entire time. 

This is a post about getting back into nature in the simplest ways to clear one's head of all that chatter.

Yes, this.

(These colors inspired several of the new soul mantra necklaces in the shop.)

love this: succulents

top photo: my kitchen window, pots from Home Depot | wreath from Pottery Barn (and awesome tutorial for a DIY version) | my hanging terrarium from my brother (similar terrariums here and here) | terrariums with wood base from West Elm | terrarium necklace from Fairie Nest on Etsy

It's official: I am obsessed with succulents! And I've gathered a few succulent-inspired items to share today from pins I've come across on Pinterest (and from my home).

For Christmas, my brother gave me that little hanging terrarium + tiny succulent, and I have kept it alive (aka I have remembered to give it a quick shower once a month), and it just makes me so happy.

Then a few weeks ago I started seeing Elise's Instagram photos of her succulents (and the cute favors she made), and suddenly I started to become a bit obsessed with the thought that this could be the plant I could have in almost any room in the house. And. keep. alive.

Yes.

So when my mom was here, we went to Home Depot and bought several small succelent plants for the kitchen, family room, bedroom, and studio. They are so darn cute!

I'm thinking about getting a few terrariums like the ones from West Elm because I love the idea of adding a bit of moss and maybe a few good things that Ellie brings home with us from our walks along Puget Sound.

And I'm learning I'm not alone with this succulent obsession. When I posted a photo of ours on Instagram and Facebook the succulent lovers raised their hands. Next up is researching how to add them to our backyard because they thrive outside here in the Pacific Northwest. 

Are you a succulent lover too? Would love to hear about any secrets/tips you have.